“The secretariat of the JSC has confirmed that a complaint has now been lodged by advocate Vuyani Ngalwana SC in his capacity as the chairperson of the Advocates for Transformation (Johannesburg) and also in his personal capacity with the JSC regarding the social media posts attributed to Judge Jansen. The JSC urges the public to allow that process to run its course and remain confident that the JSC shall deal with the matter in a just and proper manner,” Ntsebeza said.

A proposal for Judge Jansen to go on special leave has been forwarded to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha for consideration, following a consultation with her.

“All judges are subject to the Code of Judicial Conduct, which serves as the prevailing standard for judicial conduct which judges must adhere to,” said Ntsebeza.

Judge Jansen’s remarks, part of a conversation posted on Facebook a year ago, sparked an outcry this week among social media users and political parties. In the conversation, the judge said that rape was "part of black people’s culture", and gang-raping babies, girls and women was a "pleasurable pastime”. The judge added that she had "dozens of cases" before her to prove it.

The North Gauteng High Court judge was labelled a racist and calls have been made for her to be fired.

She has since reportedly defended her statements, saying they were taken out of context.

On Monday, the DA said it would refer Judge Jansen’s remarks to the JSC. A petition was also circulated online for submission to the Human Rights Commission of SA.

Judge Jansen’s remarks were publicised a few days after Matthew Theunissen from Cape Town posted a racist statement on Facebook in which he used the k-word. Theunissen's remarks were apparently in response to a decision by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula to ban rugby, cricket, netball and athletics from hosting international sporting events in the country due to a lack of transformation.